WHEN YOUR BACK'S AGAINST THE WALL

The former NFL player and movie subject combines a grim picture of poverty with a program for lifting oneself up.

Oher, the protagonist of Michael Lewis’ book The Blind Side and the 2009 film made from it, aged out of the foster care system and lived for several years on the streets before attending a private school and earning academic and athletic achievements. Both book and movie painted a rather rosier picture of his life than the reality. “Yes, there were the occasional hands held out to give me temporary relief,” writes the author, “but day in and day out it was just me and my own efforts.” He doesn’t mean to be ungrateful, but he suggests that anyone in a similar situation “requires individual lifelong dedication to persistent action in the face of adversity.” In the Memphis community in which he grew up, notes the author, few people seemed interested in getting a job and working one’s way upward. Oher mixes his advice with lessons from his pro football career—which, owing to frequent injury, was short-lived—including the mantra “Be a pro.” Of broader application, since not everyone can sign lucrative contracts with the NFL, are more quotidian cheers: Be positive. Take responsibility for your actions. Learn constantly since knowledge is “the real currency of the world” and allows one “to shape your life the way you want it.” Much of the advice would seem humdrum if Oher weren’t able to back it up with plentiful examples from his own struggles, including the depression that followed his forced retirement from football, struggles that he likens to treading water; “what got me through those hard times was dreaming of the day when I could stop treading and just rest.”

An extended pep talk best suited for devotees of self-help books.